CULTURE|RELIGION
Trying To Understand (My) Jewish Ancestry Without Being Jewish
How did Judaism become a religion, nationality, AND culture?
I had no idea that I had any Jewish genes whatsoever until I submitted my samples to 2 different DNA testing companies 4 years ago.
Since I’ve never known much information about my father, I was very curious to find out what the results would reveal.
My mother had always said that he was Irish. I don’t think she knew that he was about a quarter Jewish (which I gather from another woman with whom I closely matched and think is his sister).
One of the most interesting things for me about all of this is how fascinated I’ve been with Judaism and Jewish culture for most of my life.
My mom raised me in a Lutheran church and sent me to a private Christian school from third to eighth grade. That’s where I first became aware of who Jews were (Jesus was Jewish) and I had lots of questions, of course.
No one ever gave me sufficient answers.
There was no Google nor Internet during that time either.
However, for high school, I attended the best public school in Philadelphia, which had a high number of Jewish students.
In a first-of-its-kind survey released Tuesday, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia found that the Jewish population in the five-county Philadelphia region has increased by 60% over the last 10 years.
In 2009, there were 116,700 Jewish households. Now, researchers report 194,200 households that contain at least one Jewish adult. That gives the Philadelphia metro area the third-largest population of Jews in the country — for now.
I ended up becoming best friends with a girl named Olga who considered herself a “Russian Jew”.
She tried to explain to me different things about Judaism as a religion and as a culture.
The fact that being Jewish is a religion, ethnicity, AND culture continues to boggle my mind.
Judaism can be thought of as being simultaneously a religion, a nationality and a culture.
Olga’s family participated in major Jewish holidays and events, of which I was never invited, even though I was one of her closest friends at that time.
I was always curious to learn more, but oftentimes there was this feeling of being an “outsider”, no matter how respectful I was.
Of course, I knew about Hitler and the Nazi regime, but I didn’t know that many different cultures and nations have treated Jewish people awfully for thousands of years.
I slowly learned, over decades of conversations and reading-related material, that this is one of the main reasons that things like family, community, tradition, and education tend to be such an integral part of the lives of those who proudly identify as Jewish.
I saw “proudly” because another friend to whom I became close during my last 2 years of high school is Jewish as well. However, she did not do anything remotely Jewish.
She was simply born to a Jewish mother.
Her mother was a chain-smoking, foul-mouthed nudist (who might’ve been a swinger as well) whom I loved!
My friend never went to Hebrew school, nor did she ever go to a synagogue. Her father was Jewish too but didn’t practice a damn thing that was considered Jewish.
I was mystified.
By that time, I had stopped attending church and was questioning my faith in all kinds of things.
Then I became friends with yet another Jewish friend, Leela.
She was an only child to two Jewish parents who adored her and spoiled her.
Olga had told me about the term “Jewish American Princess” or JAP (someone once called me that without knowing that I’m not Jewish) and Leela brought this to mind when she told me some stories about her and her friends.
Leela’s parents were from Russia too and her parents, like Olga’s were adamant about them having children with a “nice, Jewish boy”.
In my years as a young adult, I never understood why their parents pressured them about this as severely as they did.
Although I understand more as I’ve matured, I still don’t think it’s right.
I’ve dated a couple of Jewish guys throughout my life and knew that despite the fact that they were “very religious”, it would be hard for them to take our relationship seriously because of the waves it would create in their communities and families.
It’s one thing to date a non-Jewish woman, it’s something entirely different to marry or have kids with one. That would mean breaking their “bloodline”.
My genes are quite mixed, with major parts being from Ireland, Benin, and Nigeria.
The “13% European Jewish” sits right alongside Benin and Nigeria, in terms of percentage breakdown.
However, I don’t know what to make of how this sits with me.
I find it all to be very confusing in terms of seeking answers to my genetic composition and ethnic background.
Community History
Jewish communities in Europe have faced the same difficulty as countless minority groups through history: forcibly separated from mainstream society, then treated with suspicion, disdain, or even punishment for being separate. Until the late 19th century, poverty and discrimination were daily realities for many European Jews, culminating in the horrors of the Holocaust in the 1930s and 1940s. Throughout their history, European Jewish communities have forged strong bonds with one another over shared hardships, channeling their pain into art, literature, philanthropy, intellectual pursuits, and a particularly Jewish brand of humor.
-Taken from my DNA profile about “European Jews” on Ancestry.com
It gets even more convoluted when I get into the politics and religious aspects of what’s going on in Israel, which I thought existed long before 1948, considering how many references were made to “Israelites” in the Christian bible.
I didn’t know until I dated a Jewish man almost 10 years ago that young, Jewish adults can visit Israel with all expenses paid.
It’s also one of the hardest religions in which to convert. Even if you do, there are still many Jews who will not consider you a “true Jew”.
Note: Not all Jewish conversions are accepted by all Jews. The more Orthodox a community is the less likely it is to accept a conversion done in a more liberal movement.
Hopefully, in time, I will come to a better understanding of what it means to be Jewish in all of these different ways.
I still find it fascinating.
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